Marianne Livingston

 At 89 seconds from midnight according to the doomsday clock and after 33 years of a moratorium on nuclear testing, the United States President, Donald Trump, announced that the U.S. would be resuming nuclear weapons testing. This adds yet another confusing and alarming policy to a growing assortment of such policies under Mr. Trump’s belt. The timing of the announcement is not coincidental. Mr. Trump’s post, on Truth Social, came after Russia announced the successful test of a ‘nuclear-capable cruise missile’. It also came the same day as Mr. Trump’s meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping. Given the current state of the international order, the implications of this move are likely to be widespread. Speculation about the beginning of another arms race has already begun and the state of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture is likely to be determined by what happens in the months ahead. While the details of what kind of testing the U.S. intends to carry out are unclea...

 The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Friday released its manifesto for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, pledging to create one crore jobs, boost industrial growth, and expand infrastructure across the state. The document was unveiled in Patna by chief minister Nitish Kumar alongside BJP president JP Nadda, Union ministers Jitan Ram Manjhi and Chirag Paswan, and RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha. BJP’s Bihar chief Dilip Jaiswal described the manifesto as “the guarantee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the trust of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar,” saying that the alliance partners symbolised unity like the “Pandavas” of the Mahabharata. “The people of Bihar trust the guarantees of PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar,” he said, adding that the public would “never forgive Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav” for the “ruin of Bihar”. ’They Talk, We Act’: JDU’s Bijendra Prasad Yadav Slams Tejashwi, Rubbishes Mahagathbandhan Manifesto The alliance’s manifesto centres on job creation, women’s empowerme...

 District Collector Kritika Shukla has instructed all officials to take measures to ensure there is no loss of life or property in view of the severe weather warnings issued by the Meteorological Department over the impending Cyclone Montha. Holding a teleconference with district and mandal-level officers in Monday (October 27), the Collector directed them to remain on high alert and ensure that people living in dilapidated structures and low-lying areas are shifted to safer locations well in advance. She emphasized that control rooms should be set up in the district headquarters and all mandals to monitor the situation round-the-clock. Officials were also told to strictly prevent the public from entering rivers, streams and water bodies, and to caution citizens against stepping out of their homes during heavy gales. The Collector made it clear that all leaves for government staff are cancelled until the cyclone’s impact subsides, and that every officer and employee must stay at th...

  Tejashwi Yadav, the Mahagathbandhan’s nominee for chief minister, on Sunday set up a battle of electoral sops with the ruling NDA, whose government had announced a slew of freebies in the run up to the Bihar Assembly elections. The RJD leader pledged to double the allowances for panchayat representatives and offered them pension if voted to power. He promised interest-free business loans of ₹5 lakh to carpenters, potters and barbers. Tejashwi, who had earlier promised a government job for at least one person from every family and permanent employment for contractual workers, avoided detailing the financial road map to his expansive welfare agenda. “We have done a scientific study and it can be done. Tejashwi keeps his promises,” he said when pressed about how he would arrange the funds in a cash-strapped state. “Once a Mahagathbandhan government is formed, we will double the honorarium of the representatives of Bihar’s three-tier panchyati raj system and gram kachaharis (village ...

  The Australian cricketers immediately sent an SOS notification, following which security officers arrived at the location The Australian cricketers immediately sent an SOS notification, following which security officers arrived at the location PTI Two members of the Australian women’s cricket team, currently in India for the ICC Women’s World Cup, were allegedly molested in Indore on Thursday while walking from their hotel to a café. The accused Aqeel Khan was arrested on Friday. According to sources, the incident took place in the Khajrana Road area on Thursday morning when the two players, staying at the Radisson Blu Hotel along with the rest of their squad, stepped out for a walk. Sub-Inspector Nidhi Raghuvanshi said a man on a motorcycle followed them and allegedly touched one of them inappropriately before fleeing the spot. The cricketers immediately sent an SOS notification, following which security officers arrived at the location. The team’s security manager, Danny Simmon...